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Google, Facebook Agreed to Team Up Against Possible Antitrust Action, Draft Lawsuit Says - WSJ

Google, Facebook Agreed to Team Up Against Possible Antitrust Action, Draft Lawsuit Says - WSJ
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Google, Facebook Agreed to Team Up Against Possible Antitrust Action, Draft Lawsuit Says - WSJ

Google, Facebook Agreed to Team Up Against Possible Antitrust Action, Draft Lawsuit Says - WSJ

Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google agreed to "cooperate and assist one another" in case of an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Monday.

The Journal report cited an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week.

The states had accused Google of working with Facebook in an unlawful manner that violated antitrust law to boost its already-dominant online advertising business.

According to the report, the lawsuit said that Google and Facebook were aware that their agreement could trigger antitrust investigations and discussed how to deal with them.

A Google spokesperson told the Journal that such agreements over antitrust threats are extremely common.

The unredacted draft version of the lawsuit, which the Journal said it reviewed, also said that Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg signed the deal with Google.

The draft version also cites an email in which Sandberg told Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and other executives that "this is a big deal strategically," the report said.

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Google to Provide Gemini AI Tools to US Government

Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP
Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP
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20
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Google to Provide Gemini AI Tools to US Government

Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP
Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP

Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to US federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday.

A suite of AI and cloud computing services called "Gemini for Government" from Google is intended to speed the adoption of the technology across the US government, the General Services Administration (GSA) said in a joint statement.

"Gemini for Government gives federal agencies access to our full stack approach to AI innovation," added Google chief executive Sundar Pichai.

"So they can deliver on their important missions."

AI tools being provided include generation of video, images, or ideas as well as digital "agents" capable of independently tending to complex tasks, said AFP.

US agencies will pay a scant fee of less than a dollar for the AI tools, building on a previous agreement that saw Google Workspace software provided to the government at a major price discount, according to the GSA.

"Federal agencies can now significantly transform their operations by using the tools in Gemini for Government," said GSA acting administrator Michael Rigas.

The deal comes just weeks after Google rival OpenAI said it was letting the US government use a version of ChatGPT designed for businesses for a year for just $1.

"By giving government employees access to powerful, secure AI tools, we can help them solve problems for more people, faster," OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the alliance.

Earlier this year, the US Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative AI to work for the military.

OpenAI planned to show how cutting-edge AI can improve administrative operations, such as how service members get health care, and also has cyber defense applications, the startup said in a post.